Overview

This book addresses a critical gap in our education system: ensuring that youth in the juvenile legal system receive the special education and related services they need. Too many students with disabilities fall through the cracks when they enter juvenile facilities, facing barriers that can derail their futures. This comprehensive guide provides both the legal framework and practical solutions to help address these systemic failures. Drawing from interviews with key community agents and juvenile legal system professionals—including teachers in juvenile facilities, intake specialists, and school-based probation officers—the book reveals how different community partners view the educational challenges and opportunities these students face, both during detainment or incarceration and when returning to their communities. The evidence-based recommendations featured throughout are grounded in proven research and successful strategies. By examining the unique struggles of youth at the intersection of multi-systemic involvement, this book serves as essential reading for university students, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers working in special education, educational policy, criminal justice, and social work who seek to understand and improve outcomes at this critical juncture.

Full Product Details

9781032679815

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Special Education and the Juvenile Legal System provides a needed, accessible understanding of the nuanced overlap between the juvenile legal system and special education. This book is a must-have for professionals in both systems so they can meaningfully support juvenile youth with disabilities. As one of the only extant texts that intertwines policy, lived experience, and practical recommendations, there is essential knowledge for every reader of this text."" Dr. Meghan Burke, Professor of Special Education, Vanderbilt University ""This book is a legally-grounded and vital resource for understanding the disproportionate representation of system-involved youth with disabilities. It sheds light on the urgent need for effective transition planning and supports for youth reentering communities. Strassfeld has written both an accessible and deeply analytical text that is an essential resource for educators, advocates, legal professionals, and policymakers committed to advancing support for youth that are too often overlooked."" Dr. Catherine Voulgarides, Associate Professor of Special Education, City University of New York ""Dr. Strassfeld, relying on her expertise as a special education researcher, has crafted an essential book on special education and the juvenile justice system. While clearly explicating the legal issues involved in the school-to-prison pipeline, Dr. Strassfeld deftly connects legal information, real-life experiences, and evidence-based practices in this important book."" Dr. Mitchell Yell, Fred and Francis Lester Palmetto Chair in Teacher Education, Special Education, University of South Carolina

Author Information

Natasha Strassfeld, JD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a courtesy appointment at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Her work is steeped in special education, policy, and law, and she explores service delivery for K-12 students with disabilities across systems to better understand the lives of multisystemic youth.

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